OpenAI has raised $15 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation, CNBC reported on Thursday, citing sources, in a report relayed on X from 14:50 UTC. That is $4 billion more than the roughly $11 billion Bloomberg said had closed on 6 November, by our arithmetic.
At $1.25 trillion, OpenAI is valued 29.1% above the $968.4 billion that Anthropic’s $74 IPO midpoint gives on its filed share count, by our arithmetic. Anthropic’s roadshow is running this week.
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The key insight: As we read the reports, OpenAI has a reported $15 billion raise at $1.25 trillion in the week Anthropic began marketing its IPO, so the two labs’ marks can now be set side by side: 29.1% apart on Anthropic’s filed share count, by our arithmetic.
The headline was relayed by zerohedge at 14:50 UTC, by Walter Bloomberg at 14:51 UTC and by FirstSquawk at 14:53 UTC, which wrote “CNBC SOURCES”. StockMKTNewz wrote that OpenAI “just closed its funding round”.
CNBC’s full article was not available to us at the time of writing. The relays do not name the investors, say whether $1.25 trillion is before or after the new money, or say whether any shares were sold by existing holders. OpenAI had not posted a statement on the round on its news page by 15:20 UTC.
Valuation marks in $ billions: OpenAI’s round as CNBC reported on 12 November, citing sources; Anthropic at its $74 IPO midpoint on the 13,086,672,593 shares its S-1/A says will be outstanding; Anthropic’s May Series H; OpenAI’s 31 March round. The midpoint value and the 29% gap are our arithmetic.
How the Round Got Here
The Wall Street Journal reported on 31 October that OpenAI had first targeted $30 billion, as we covered in OpenAI Raised Under Half Its $30B Goal. On 6 November, CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC the company was in talks at a $1.25 trillion pre-money valuation and called the round ongoing (our piece).
Also on 6 November, Bloomberg reported that roughly $11 billion had closed and the round could reach as much as $20 billion (our piece). The $15 billion now reported is 75% of that $20 billion and 50% of the first $30 billion target, by our arithmetic.
Against March and Against Anthropic
OpenAI said on 31 March it closed its previous round with $122 billion in committed capital at a post-money valuation of $852 billion. $1.25 trillion is 46.7% above that, by our arithmetic. If $1.25 trillion is the pre-money figure Friar described, adding $15 billion gives $1.265 trillion after the money, by our arithmetic.
Anthropic’s amended S-1 of 10 November offers 825 million shares at $70 to $78. On the 13,086,672,593 shares it says will be outstanding afterwards, the range is $917 billion to $1.02 trillion and the $74 midpoint $968.4 billion, by our arithmetic (our piece on the filed terms). OpenAI’s mark is $281.6 billion above that midpoint, by our arithmetic.
On the fully diluted base our earlier pieces used, Anthropic’s range is $1.27 trillion to $1.41 trillion, so OpenAI’s $1.25 trillion sits $20 billion below its bottom, by our arithmetic. Which count is used decides which lab carries the higher mark.
The Money Side by Side
Anthropic is selling 801,351,354 of the offered shares itself. At the $74 midpoint that is $59.3 billion before fees, by our arithmetic, so OpenAI’s $15 billion is about 25% of what Anthropic’s own IPO shares would raise. Anthropic’s filing also lists a $26.0 billion private placement.
For scale, Nvidia’s market value was about $3.85 trillion at 9:49 a.m. New York time on Thursday, after its chief executive’s resignation (our piece). OpenAI’s $1.25 trillion is about 32% of that, by our arithmetic.
The Structural Read
As we read the relays, the round is reported, not confirmed: the investors, the share price and whether $1.25 trillion is before or after the new money are not in the text we could read.
As we read the two filings and reports together, the comparison turns on the share count: on Anthropic’s filed outstanding shares OpenAI’s mark is higher, and on the fully diluted base our earlier pieces used it is lower.
OpenAI, announcing its previous round on 31 March 2026
“Today, we closed our latest funding round with $122 billion in committed capital at a post money valuation of $852 billion.”
Three Implications
FOR OPENAI’S HOLDERS The reported mark is 46.7% above the March round’s post-money valuation, by our arithmetic.
FOR ANTHROPIC’S IPO BUYERS Anthropic’s S-1/A lists 825 million shares at $70 to $78; the reported OpenAI mark is a private-market reference point next to that range.
FOR THE ROUND Bloomberg said on 6 November the round could reach as much as $20 billion; $15 billion leaves $5 billion to that figure, by our arithmetic.
The framework records: “The $1T capex cycle is being underwritten by a $1T concentrated demand commitment from two counterparties whose combined free cash flow is deeply negative.”
As we read it, this week both of those labs are raising money at the same time: OpenAI’s reported $15 billion and Anthropic’s IPO, which at its $74 midpoint would bring the company $59.3 billion before fees, by our arithmetic. The framework predates both and does not discuss them.
OpenAI’s round at a $1.25 trillion valuation, in $ billions: the first target the WSJ reported on 31 October, the possible total and the roughly $11 billion closed that Bloomberg reported on 6 November, and the $15 billion CNBC reported on 12 November, citing sources. Percentages are our arithmetic.
What Is Not Established
The investors, the share class, the price per share and whether $1.25 trillion is pre-money or post-money are not established from the relays we read. Neither is whether $15 billion is the final total or whether any of it is a secondary sale. OpenAI has not confirmed the figures. Anthropic’s IPO price is not set.
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CNBC reported, citing sources, that OpenAI has raised $15 billion at $1.25 trillion, $4 billion more than Bloomberg reported a week ago. That mark is 46.7% above March’s $852 billion and 29.1% above Anthropic’s $968.4 billion IPO midpoint on its filed share count, by our arithmetic.
A note on sourcing. The $15 billion and $1.25 trillion figures are CNBC’s, citing sources, as relayed on X from 14:50 UTC on 12 November; we could not read CNBC’s full article at the time of writing and OpenAI had not confirmed the round. The March figures are from OpenAI’s own release; the Anthropic figures are from its S-1/A of 10 November. Comparisons labelled as ours are our arithmetic.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
